If only I'd known then what I know now…

What in the world happened to the month of April? It went by in a blur, or at least that’s how it seems to me. Never-the-less, it’s Wednesday again, and you know what that means. It’s time for The Wednesday Hodgepodge! Thank you, once again, to our wonderful hostess, Joyce, for continuing to host this fun meme. Now, let the fun begin…

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Has your April been filled with showers?

We haven’t had many April showers in our neck of the woods, other than the kind that flows from our water sprinkler. It’s been extremely dry here! That’s why we were absolutely thrilled when it finally rained on Sunday evening! We are very grateful for the inch of rain we received.

Do you carry an umbrella, wear a slicker, or make a run for it? I often carry an umbrella, but, sometimes, I’ll just make a run for it. A little water never hurt anyone.

Besides rain, what else has filled your April?

April has mostly been filled with planting and taking care of our garden. Gardening is quite time-consuming (especially for poor Ed)! Due to my back issues, I do more watching and watering than anything else. You can’t tell from this photo, but there are 20 rows of vegetables planted in this garden!

2. What’s something you could give a 30-minute presentation on, at a moment’s notice, with zero preparation? I could easily give a presentation on these creatures:

I can’t believe how little I actually knew about chickens when I brought those first baby chicks home, five years ago, but experience is a great teacher! These ‘girls’ think they rule–and they pretty much do. The two red hens are from the original flock of five years ago, and they still lay eggs! The other six members of the flock (one missed being photographed) will celebrate their 3rd birthday in September. We’ve almost reached a milestone of 4, 400 eggs from these chickens (plus the five members of the flock who are now deceased).

3. Share with us a favorite food memory from childhood.

I remember my maternal grandmother having some awesome family dinners at her house! There’d be all kinds of foods, but, strangely, the thing I looked forward to the most was the large plate of pineapple or pimento cheese sandwiches! They always tasted so good! Grandma also made the most delicious ‘bread pudding’ I’ve ever eaten. For those who may not know, ‘bread pudding’ is made with ‘left-over’ bread, eggs, milk, sugar, and cinnamon, then baked. I sure wish I had grandma’s recipe.

4. What’s a song you thought you knew the lyrics to, but later discovered you were wrong?

I don’t have a particular song in mind, but, prior to Google, I didn’t know the correct lyrics to most of the songs by Credence Clearwater Revival or Elton John… Come to think of it, can anyone sing the correct lyrics to Benny and the Jets?

Sadly, none of them. I’m not well-traveled. I have been to Disneyworld, in Florida, but I went before Epcot was completed.

Did you feel like a tourist? Did you care? Yes and no.

Tell us about a place (not on the list) you’ve visited that might be considered a tourist trap, but you love it anyway.

Elvis’ former home, Graceland might fall into that category. His home, seemingly frozen in time, is still open for tours, as far as I know. The house is still decorated as it was back in the late 60’s or early 70’s, but I enjoyed touring it, since I remember the 70’s so well. I’m sure everything in the home was ‘state of the art’ back in Elvis’ day, but everything looks rather antiquated now. Check out that television!

photo via Google

6. Your signature clothing item?

Crocs! I wear them all the time. Here’s a photo of my first pair of Crocs. I wore this pair for about ten years before finally throwing them away! Sadly, the newer Crocs aren’t made to be quite as durable.

7. What’s an experience you’ve had you think everyone should experience at least once? Why?

A “close call”. My husband, Ed, had a heart attack 18 months ago. Fortunately, he survived his “widow maker”, and is doing well. While going through the experience was extremely scary and stressful, it made us both realize just how precious (and short) our time [here] really is. We can be taken in the blink of an eye! We thank God, every day, for this ‘extra’ time we’ve been given together.

Random:
While in Brunswick on other business, we had the opportunity to briefly visit St. Simon’s Island, last week, our first visit since last September.

I was pleased not to see much damage from last fall’s hurricane Matthew. Everything seemed pretty much unchanged. The ‘walking man’ was still making his rounds…

and folks were still taking pictures beside the strange-looking tree on the island… which I can’t seem to find a photo of! The island was actually pretty crowded, for a Thursday.

We only stayed long enough to grab a bar-b-que sandwich from Southern Soul, then ate it while sitting in a park beside the beautiful water. I hope to go back, soon!

I promised myself that I would write a blog post, last week, while The Hodgepodge was on hiatus, but guess what? I didn’t. I guess it’s a good thing our gracious hostess, Joyce, only took one week off. Anyway, Joyce is back, The Hodgepodge is back, and so am I! Here are today’s questions:

1. Tell us about a time you felt like you were ‘flying by the seat of your pants’.

Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is taking care of our first baby, right after she was born. I knew nothing about babies, and frankly, I was scared to death! Scared to hold her, to feed her, to dress her, even to be left alone with her. Thankfully, babies are resilient and new mommies learn quickly! Things went much smoother with my next two babies.

2. When or where would you most like to be ‘a fly on the wall’?

I think I’d like to be a fly on the wall when our grandchildren are playing together. They’re getting to the age where they talk among themselves more, and some of what they say is probably pretty funny. If it isn’t, it soon will be!

3. ‘Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.’-Henry David Thoreau

Would you agree? Why or why not?

I agree. It’s always been my experience when you concentrate on one particular thing, and it’s not happening, time seems to d-r-a-g. For instance, waiting for Ed to complete his [20 month] tour of duty in Okinawa, trying to get pregnant the first time, or even trying to get a new job after being a stay-at-home mom for 14 years. It seemed that just turning my focus to other things always seemed to work for me. Before I knew it, happiness had arrived, in some form or another.

4. Share a favorite movie, book, or song with flying in it’s title, lyrics, or theme somewhere.

I love Albert E. Brumley’s gospel song, I’ll Fly Away. There are many versions of this song on YouTube, but the one below is a really good one, and it’s set to footage from the movie “Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?” (I love that movie, too!)

5. What is one task or chore you tend to do ‘on the fly’? Is this something that really needs to be done another way?

Cleaning the bathroom! I don’t really have scheduled cleaning days for the bathroom. It’s done on an “as needed” basis–usually twice a week, more if needed.

6. What was happening the last time you thought to yourself or said aloud, ‘Wow, time flies when you’re having fun’, and you meant it.

I say that phrase a lot, now that Ed and I are both retired, and I really mean it!

7. This Thursday is National Garlic Day. Will you add garlic to your menu on Thursday? Do you like garlic? What’s your favorite dish made with garlic?

No, garlic isn’t one of my favorite things. A little garlic goes a long way, as far as I’m concerned. My favorite thing seasoned with garlic is bread or toast.

Random:

Ed and I celebrated Easter #44 with our family, this past weekend. The celebration began with everyone gathering at our daughter’s house, on Saturday afternoon, with all of our grandchildren dying eggs together.

cousins getting ready to dye eggs

The children had a great time dying eggs, but I think the children (and some adults) had almost as much fun playing together, afterward!

Jennifer, exhibits her skills with a hula hoop

The day ended with a delicious meal of chili, hot dogs, Easter cake and cookies. I’m very grateful to our daughter for hosting this event for our family.

Somehow, Ed and I managed to find time to hide 353 plastic eggs in our yard, and cook our portion of the noon meal before 10 am on Easter morning. We were determined to make it to church, this year! It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it.

on the way to church

At 11 am, Ed and I attended services at a local church, where our oldest son delivered the morning message. (He did an awesome job, too.) After church, everyone met at our house for Easter lunch, followed by our traditional egg hunt.

Of course, before the egg hunt could begin, we had to take our annual Easter family photo…

No blooms left on our azaleas, this year

And then the fun began…

Evan, the youngest, leading the hunt

At the end of the day, 350 of 353 eggs were found, after almost two hours of hunting! The grandchildren ended up with a ton of candy, and a total of twenty dollars in prize money. I think everyone had a great time, I know I did.

Lately, it’s been busy here in our neck of the woods, but it’s time to take a break and settle down a while with The Wednesday Hodgepodge. I always look forward to Wednesdays! Thanks to our gracious hostess, Joyce, for this little bit of mid-week fun:) Please join us if you can!

1. April is Lawn and Garden Month. On a scale of 1-10 what’s the current state of your lawn and/or garden. (10=a showpiece, 1=send in the professionals). Tell us about any lawn or garden plans you have for this month.

Well, Joyce, I’m so glad you asked, since we’ve been busy working on both! At the moment, our lawn is about a 6. Even though Ed’s treated it for weeds, and fertilized it, we haven’t had enough rain to make it lush and green, yet. We’re getting there, though.

As for our garden, Phase 1 (potatoes, garden peas, onions) has been planted for over a month. So far, I’d rate it about a 6, too, due to the strange weather we’ve been having. ( cold nights, hot days, no rain)

Phase 2 (green beans, squash, cucumbers, peas, butter beans) has been planted about a week, and is just beginning to sprout. So far, so good. The tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, and peppers seem to be doing okay, we’ll see how everything tolerates the 43 degree temps, wind, rain, and possible hail that’s headed our way, now.

2. “Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.”~Thomas Fuller What does this quote mean to you?

First, I’m going to take this quote literally, because Ed and I have all kinds of grass and weeds sprouting in our garden and we didn’t plant any of it! I can also take this quote figuratively, in remembering the difficult days of trying to raise children. You love them, nurture them, and teach them all the right things, but, sometimes negative actions and behaviors spring forth from them, just like weeds in a garden.

3. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about God?

Love/redemption/forgiveness/obedience.

4. If we were chatting in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

I’d probably fidget a bit, and not have very much to say, at first. I don’t usually initiate much conversation, but I’ll follow along if you’ll start it.

5. Do you like the color yellow? Would I find any in your home or wardrobe? Daffodils, tulips, roses, sunflowers, day lily, black-eyed susan…which yellow bloom on this list is your favorite?

Yellow is good, but it’s not among my favorite colors, except in flowers! I can’t choose a favorite flower because I love daffodils, yellow roses, and sunflowers! In fact, I grow sunflowers in the garden every year, see:

I do have a couple of yellow items in my wardrobe, but I don’t wear them often. There’s no yellow in my home, unless you count the ceramic chicks sitting on the shelves in the living room.

7. Tell us about any Easter plans, celebrations, or traditions you’ll carry out this month.

Usually, I have all of the grandchildren over to color eggs on the Saturday evening before Easter. This year, our daughter is planning to take over this tradition, and let the cousins color eggs at her house.

Ed and I will still be hosting the usual family Easter lunch and an egg hunt for the grandchildren, afterward, but this year will be different. Usually, on Easter, Ed and I stay home to cook the meal and hide the eggs while everyone else is at church.

This year we will hide the eggs and cook the meal ahead of time, so we can attend Easter services, like everyone else does. Our oldest son will be bringing the Easter message at his church, this year. How special is that?! I’m looking forward to being there.

Random:

Easter memories…

The other day, when I saw some little boys’ three-piece suits hanging in a store, I couldn’t help but remember Easters when our children were small!

It doesn’t seem that long ago when they were small, but now our children are all grown up, with children of their own. Our daughter has a daughter, and both sons have sons.

cir. 1987

In fact, three of our four grandchildren are now about the same ages our children were in this old photo. cir. 1989

Last Easter it rained, so we didn’t get to take a family photo, but here’s a 2015 Easter picture of our crew, all grown up, with their families. The thing I notice most about this photo is how much Ed and I look like the grandparents. Oh, my!